Quiksilver Team Go Big at Surfer Poll Awards

The biggest night in surfing took place last night at the 42nd annual Surfer Poll Awards at the Turtle Bay Resort on the North Shore of Oahu. Awards are presented to top surfers, movies and performances of the year, as voted on by fans.

Kelly Slater brought home the win for Best Men’s Surfer of the Year. This award marks his 18th Surfer Poll No.1 Award, spanning back to 1993.

“Obviously I’m stoked, its been a long time with a lot of support from a lot of people,” said Slater. “It’s nice to be recognized by the surfing community and to come out at the top position. I’m surprised John John didn’t get first. I also thought Dane was going to get it this year—maybe next year. I think they split each other’s votes. They stole the election from each other.”

ASP Tour Rebel Dane Reynolds also received tops honors of the night with his win for Best Performance.

Quiksilver big wave surfer Reef McIntosh rounded out the awards of the evening by winning Best Barrel in the film Fiji Freight Trains.

Quiksilver Women’s Stephanie Gilmore brought home the win for Top Women’s Surfer of the Year, on the heels of the 5th ASP World Title.

“I am very excited about this year,” said Gilmore. “I was a little unsure of how it’d unfold, I wasn’t sure if I was going to come out on top because I didn’t win last year. I seriously had one of the best years of my life, and I guess everybody else thought that too. These awards are so important, because it’s the fans voting, so it means a lot.”